Daniel Andrews is now more popular than Malcolm Turnbull – on Facebook

Daniel Andrews now has more likes and followers on Facebook than Malcolm Turnbull

By SIMON KUPERMAN

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has officially steamed ahead of Malcolm Turnbull in the Facebook world, with his page clocking up more “likes” than the PM’s.

Mr Andrews has passed 377,000 likes compared to Mr Turnbull’s stagnating total of just under 370,000.

But neither are the most popular Australian politician on Facebook, both trailing well behind former prime minister Tony Abbott with almost 460,000 likes.

Mr Andrews’s social media following quickly grew after being elected Premier in November 2014, and the past 18 months has seen his Facebook likes increase by nearly 200,000.

He’s maintained a strong social media presence, often posting multiple times a day.

Posts on the page range from infrastructure montage videos and letters to the Prime Minister, to Buzzfeed posts about why Melbourne is better than Sydney, and even the occasional Simpsons reference.

This speaks to a growing trend of politicians trying to engage more directly with voters through social media, a tool most notably attributed to US President Donald Trump.

“Social media helps Daniel speak to more Victorians, and it saves taxpayers’ money,” a spokesperson for the Premier said.

“There is a team that helps out, but it is the Premier’s page. It’s his voice and his values.”

However, it has been this team that has had the Premier caught out in the past. Last year, on the Thursday morning before the Grand Final Friday public holiday, Mr Andrews posted an image referencing a Drake album cover.

But at a press conference later that day, the Premier was thrown off when asked if he had a favourite Drake song, replying he didn’t know any of his songs.

Despite the Facebook mishap, and while the opinion polls haven’t looked great for Mr Andrews the last few months, he has a huge lead over Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, who only just passed 50,000 likes.

As for Mr Turnbull, he still crushes the competition on Twitter as the most popular Australian politician with almost 900,000 followers, beating Mr Andrews with 57,000 and Mr Abbott with 650,000.